Town and Country Center
UpdateOn June 26, 2011 PSPF board member Patrick McGrew wrote an insightful “Valley Voice” column about the future of the Desert Fashion Plaza and the Town & Country Center. To read the Op-Ed piece click here… On June 17, 2011 the city of Palm Springs issued a news release that stated, in part, that “Wessman Development has agreed to remove the Town and Country Center from the Desert Fashion Plaza Revitalization Plan.”
At the June 15, 2011 Palm Springs city council meeting, PSPF board members and volunteers made public comment asking the council to remove the Town & Country Center from Wessman Development’s Desert Fashion Plaza Revitalization Plan. The PSPF speakers emphasized the compatibility of both revitalizing the Desert Fashion Plaza and restoring the Town & Country Center. On June 12, 2011 PSPF board member Gary Johns wrote a “Valley Voice” column for the Desert Sun newspaper that addressed the benefits of historic preservation and how the rehabilitation of the Town & Country Center would benefit the community. To read the Op-Ed piece click here... On June 9, 2011 PSPF delivered the Sustainability Assessment for the Preservation of the Town & Country Center prepared by Ecotype Consulting, Inc. In the cover letter to the mayor and city council PSPF wrote, “We’re sure you would agree that our common commitment to sustainability implicitly includes a commitment to green redevelopment. With the rehabilitation of the T&CC, the city of Palm Springs would become the leader in green development throughout the Coachella Valley.” To read the PSPF cover letter click here… On June 8, 2011 PSPF sent a letter to the Palm Springs mayor and city council detailing the PSPF concerns about the proposed Development Agreement with Wessman Development. The site plan associated with the Development Agreement includes the demolition of the T&CC. The letter was an expanded version of PSPF’s May 2011 letter delivered to the Planning Commission. To read the PSPF letter click here… On May 25, 2011 in a well-considered and principled decision, the city’s Planning Commission voted 3-1 (with two recusals) to reject the proposed "Development Agreement" with Wessman Development. The decision sent a clear message that the commissioners viewed the Town & Country Center as an historic asset that should be rehabilitated. The commissioners voiced concerns about the associated Wessman site plan including lack of green space and poor traffic management. One commissioner characterized as "lop-sided" the lucrative benefits proposed for the developer under the Development Agreement. At the Planning Commission meeting yet another site plan (aka a “Revitalization Plan”) was presented. To see the Desert Sun’s graphic of that plan click here… On May 19, 2011 PSPF delivered a letter to the city’s Planning Commission that asserted that it was PSPF’s view “that the inclusion of the Town & Country Center (T&CC) in the proposed [Wessman Development] plan and Development Agreement before you is flawed on many levels and fails to comport with the values and priorities of the city’s general plan, historic resources program and sustainability program.” The 8-page letter is an excellent overview of the issues surrounding the T&CC controversy. To read the PSPF letter click here… On May 18, 2011 Mr. Sanford Garner, president of the National Organization of Minority Architects, wrote a letter to the mayor regarding his recent trip to Palm Springs and his visit to the T&CC. In his letter president Garner expressed his concern that the city was pursuing a development plan that included the demolition of the T&CC and stated that the current Wessman Development plan was not consistent with the city’s “highly-publicized sustainability campaign.” President Garner also contended that “the historical importance of Paul R. Williams cannot be overstated.” On May 11, 2011 PSPF board members Gary Johns and Ron Marshall (and PSModCom board member Chris Menrad) met with the museum’s executive leadership (Harold Matzner and Harold Meyerman) to voice concerns about the museum’s support for the current Wessman Development Desert Fashion Plaza Concept Plan which will demolish the historic Town & Country Center and the Wexler-designed E. F. Hutton Building. On May 5, 2011 the board of the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation voted unanimously to accept a proposal from Ecotype Consulting to conduct a “Town & Country Center Sustainability Study.” Ecotype Consulting is a highly-regarded local firm from Redlands, California that has real-world experience coupled with academic credentials. The study should be completed by the end of June, in time to inform decisions about the fate of the historic Town & Country Center. The completed study will be distributed to the Palm Springs city council and other interested city boards and commissions.
On April 11, 2011 PSPF contacted the city manger to report that “squatters” had taken up residence on the first floor of the Town & Country Restaurant (most recently Zelda’s nightclub) in the historic Town & Country Center complex. PSPF expressed concern that this greatly increased the potential for damage and/or fire to the building and asked that the appropriate city departments take action. On April 8, 2011 PSPF board members Patrick McGrew and Gary Johns accompanied architect Donald Wexler on a visit to the E. F. Hutton Building that, according to Johns, has been "hiding in plain sight" for years within the Town & Country Center. Designed by Wexler & Harrison in 1955, the building later housed the Palm Springs Club. The E. F. Hutton building will fall victim to demolition should the city council approve the owner/developer’s current plan for the Desert Fashion Plaza. On April 5, 2011 PSPF board member Erik Rosenow wrote a “Valley Voice” column for the Desert Sun newspaper that addressed the Town & Country Center controversy. To read the Op-Ed piece click here... On March 20, 2011 PSPF’s board of directors met with the board of directors of the Palm Springs Modern Committee to discuss the issue of the Town & Country Center. As a result, several joint PSPF/PSModCom subcommittees were formed to pursue various advocacy strategies. On March 6, 2011 PSPF sent a letter to the Palm Springs Art Museum board of trustees asking for a meeting with the trustees to discuss the museum’s position on the Town & Country Center. To read the PSPF letter click here... On March 2, 2011 the city council conducted a “public hearing/study session” ostensibly to “review and discuss the results of the community input and visioning sessions with [the] property owner.” After an overview of the publicly-derived “Preferred Concept Plan,” the developer was allowed to present a completely new “Wessman Development Desert Fashion Plaza Concept Plan.” While the new Wessman Development DFP Concept Plan is laudable insofar as it successfully breaks up the DFP superblock, it recycles the developer’s demand for the gratuitous demolition of the Town & Country Center in exchange for a new retail store frontage “road to nowhere.” Particularly disturbing was public comment by a senior Palm Springs Art Museum official characterizing the proposal as a “terrific plan” and implicitly endorsing the demolition of the Town & Country Center. On January 26, February 3 and February 9, 2011 the city of Palm Springs hosted three “visioning sessions” to receive public input regarding the Desert Fashion Plaza and the Town & Country Center. Many PSPF members and board members attended the sessions and were outspoken in their support for the restoration of the Town & Country Center. Public input also included calls for local (as opposed to chain) retail, pedestrian-friendly throughways, world-class architecture, etc. As a result of this community process a “Preferred Concept Plan” was developed that offered an innovative solution that addressed many of the shortcomings of the failed DFP superblock. The final community plan also disconnected the Town & Country Center from the DFP development plan, a short-term solution supported by PSPF. Despite this apparent real progress, at the final February 9, 2011 visioning session, Mayor Pougnet suddenly announced that the developer had agreed to “work with the city” and “had heard” the community’s input. Winter 2010 Update
On December 15, 2010, the Palm Springs city council voted 5-0 to proceed with plans to acquire both the Desert Fashion Plaza and Town & Country Center. The vote was the result of years of fruitless efforts by the city to motivate Wessman Development Company to have the properties contribute to the city's economy. The vote also validated the preservation community's strategic decision not to litigate on CEQA grounds when the Town & Country Center's Class 1 historic site nomination was rebuffed by the city in June of 2009. The city has established a schedule for community input ("visioning" workshops) which will discuss the mechanics of purchasing the Wessman holdings which have been appraised at $15.7 million for the Desert Fashion Plaza and $2.3 million for the Town & Country Center. According to the mayor, the city may pay for the properties either through an agreement with another developer (via a Disposition and Development Agreement) or through a "tax assessment created by a vote of the people." Winter 2009 UpdateAt the November 18, 2009 Palm Springs City council meeting, the Museum Market Plaza Specific Plan (which includes the historic Town & Country Center) was amended as follows: "No permit for the demolition or substantial alteration of any portion of the Town and Country Center will be issued until (a) all discretionary entitlements consistent with the Specific Plan have been approved for the renovation or redevelopment of the existing Desert Fashion Plaza; (b) building permits in furtherance of such renovation or redevelopment have been issued; and (c) substantial work consistent with such building permits have commenced on the existing Desert Fashion Plaza." It is PSPF’s view that the foregoing amendment guarantees the safety of the T&CC for the immediate future as the current owner/developer has asserted he does not have the financial wherewithal to renovate the Desert Fashion Plaza. Should the current owner/developer fail to renovate the Desert Fashion Plaza in a timely manner, we are confident that the city of Palm Springs will take legal action to acquire and renovate the T&CC. Summer 2009 UpdateOn June 24, 2009 the Palm Springs City Council voted 5-0 AGAINST Class 1 historic site designation of the Town and Country Center despite significant public support and an endorsement from the State of California's Office of Historic Preservation. We will keep you updated as the T&CC drama continues to unfold. Read our informational flyer 10 Myths and Misconceptions About the Town & Country Center and Historic Preservation. On June 18, 2009, PSPF volunteers delivered a copy of the 10 Myths flyer along with a cover letter to 200 Downtown Palm Springs Business Owners. To read the cover letter click here... BackgroundConsistent with the city staff's findings, on June 9, 2009 the city's Historic Site Preservation Board voted 4-2 (DeLeeuw, Gilmer, Marshall and Williams supporting) recommending Class 1 historic site designation of the Town and Country Center (T&CC) to the city council. The nomination was authored by PSPF board member Patrick McGrew and is a thoughtful and scholarly assessment of the historic and architectural merits of the property. The 21-page nomination has already injected some much-needed objectivity into the sometimes emotional T&CC debate. Unfortunately, proponents of demolishing the T&CC have been swayed by the developer's specious arguments that (1) the building is unremarkable, (2) it would be expensive to renovate and (3) it is not an economically viable business configuration. These arguments, of course, are flawed. Any concerned citizen who reads the nomination will readily conclude that the building is historically and architecturally important. Secondly, renovation costs alluded to by the developer have been unrealistically high. Thirdly, we know that courtyard configurations have not only been viable in the past but are viable today (witness the success of "The Corridor" complex just a few blocks north of the T&CC). The economic viability of our downtown is not some elusive goal. Historic preservation has worked to revitalize hundreds of downtowns all over the country. Many of these downtowns have fewer and far less remarkable architectural resources than Palm Springs. We need only to point these simple truths out to our fellow citizens and elected leader. In the MediaClick on a title below to view.
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